


Time Marches On

by Svedjik



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Harry Potter Needs a Hug, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Not Happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27795466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Svedjik/pseuds/Svedjik
Summary: Years after that fateful Christmas in 1997, Harry Potter still feels uneasy as the church bells chime on Christmas Eve. He always remembers the night when they tolled not only for him, but also for the one he holds closest.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26
Collections: Christmas With Harmony 2020





	Time Marches On

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a response to the HMS Harmony Discord Christmas with Harmony event, though it does contain some Remus/Tonks. I've had Metallica's For Whom the Bell Tolls stuck in my head for a while and decided to run with it and now this monstrosity exists. I hope at least a few people enjoy it. This is my first time writing a non-platonic relationship between these two, so I hope I didn't screw it up too badly. Dialogue isn't my strong suit, so I tend to avoid it as much as possible, sorry.

Walking down any street at night was always difficult after the war. Especially this street in particular. Too close to the house where they were attacked, too close to his parents, too close to that church, its bells always tolling. That last part always made him tense. Every Christmas Eve, the church bells rang out for miles, reminding everyone that it was a time for joy. But not for Harry. It always reminded him of that one night, all those years ago, when Hermione, his best and sometimes only friend, was almost taken from him. Thankfully, she had survived. He had too, but not completely. Even now, after years of living so close to where it happened, he still clammed up every Christmas Eve, with every tolling of the bell. It simply felt too raw, like it had happened just hours before instead of nearly a decade prior. 

Rounding the corner, Harry started getting closer and closer to home and who waited for him inside.  _ I really don’t deserve her, _ he thought. He always felt that way, especially with how she cared for him, how she had always cared for him, even through the worst tension that Christmas Eve brought. It was meant to be a joyous time full of celebration and family and after the pyrrhic victory that was the Battle of Hogwarts, that consisted of four people: Tonks, Remus, his beloved godson Teddy, and of course, Hermione. Four people that made up his whole world after that godforsaken bell tolled not for him, but for the Weasleys, for Neville, for Luna, for all those deemed “Disposable Heroes,” he liked to call them. Those always forgotten in the midst of the great Harry Potter. Of course, he had numbed himself to their deaths as the years marched by, but it still felt so fresh on this day. 

Looking up, Harry noticed he had finally gotten back to his house. He had lived there for years, but he still had trouble thinking of it as home, as more than just a house. A solid quarter of his entire world lived there with him, and while he certainly loved Tonks, Remus, and Teddy, he couldn’t help but love Hermione more. As he walked through the door, he was met with a gentle hug that said more than any words could:  _ You’re safe, you can let it all go, you can trust me _ . Taking a calming breath, he separated himself from his lovely wife and gave her a reassuring smile.  _ Everything’s okay _ , it said,  _ I trust you, I love you. _ As the pair moved into the living room, where the tree was set up, dinner ready courtesy of the Lupins. One more brief embrace between the couple and the festivities were able to begin with Teddy happily distributing presents with his parents and godparents cheering him on. After everyone had opened their small stack, the Lupin took their leave, as they did every year, to give the young survivors their space. Tears briefly filled both of their eyes, they shared one more love-filled hug and an understanding passed between them both:  _ We will be okay. We will remember those we’ve lost, but we will not let it consume us. Time marches on. _ And as the church bells rang in Christmas Day, Harry let himself be glad that, for once, the bells did not toll for him.


End file.
